landar

Does the trunk unlatch if you pull the trunk lever from inside the cabin(make sure the lock is not pressed in)?

I agree, The rotors alone are easily $90.00 Billy, Are the parts OEM ? Well...they have guns in Texas too. :o :D

The wiring diagram section wont open for some reason, but this is a great site. Thanks. 1998_LS400_ac2.pdf

...and a LOT of others too. But I don't want to start naming names for fear of inadvertently leaving someone out! You are right, curious. The members are what makes the group and we do have an excellent, experienced group with much sage advice to share. (and we sure do like to beer chug a lot too ).

SRK, you have made many positive contributions to this site and you are very much appreciated here. I think we all have joined other groups but this one has a particularly strong sense of respect, intelligence and thoughtful posts. You are one of many who make this little virtual world a very good one. Thanks.

Welcome to the club Please explain what you mean by "lurching". You have your foot on the brake, shift into gear and the car actually moves forward/backward a bit? What are the RPM's when you shift into gear? It's totally normal for the car to pull against the brakes and for you to "feel" that it is in gear and ready to go. But with your foot on the brake pedal, it should not move at all.

You are welcome. Just some advice when you go to the dealer, be it Toyota or Lexus...if the prices are not in-line with those mentioned in my earlier post, tell them so AND ask for a discount. I do this all the time with dealers and they have always given in. Usually a 20% discount (which is what they sell to Indies).

You do not want that package...way too expensive. You are correct that there are no distributor caps/rotor on a 98. The "t/s" stands for thermostat. The water inlet housing has an O-ring. As to whether you need front crank seal and/or cam seals depends upon whether or not they are leaking and how many miles you have.

Have you tried -> http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html

Hey Billy, take some good photos of the whole starter replacement so we can have a nice tutorial!

Yes, that is why I asked him to verify that the "click" is coming from the starter area. The starter solenoid actually makes more than just a click. Its more like a hefty "clunk" when you are up and close to the starter. The solenoid slams those contacts together pretty hard and there is no mistaking the gentle click of a starter relay with the solenoid movement in the starter. But you have to get your ear in the engine compartment and listen carefully (and hope that it does NOT start).

Bad connections at the battery or a ground generally result in a "rat-a-tat-tat" constant clicking noise, not a single click. This because the high resistance allows just enough current to energize the relay but the voltage at the starter "falls flat" (diminishes) when the starter motor begins to pull current. The relay then cuts out which disconnects the starter motor at which time there is enough current again to energize the relay...and the whole sequence begins over.

Sounds like classic worn solenoid contacts. Open the hood and have someone else turn the key and see if the click is coming from center-rear of engine. If so, time for a new starter.

You might also clean the old grommet of oil/grease and cut a piece of adhesive tape (like duct tape) to go over the grommet. When the grommet starts to break apart, the smaller pieces will adhere to the tape and make the cleanup easier.

Yes, you read correctly. The intake manifold has to be removed and the starter bolts are somewhat difficult to access The starter is cradled between the cylinder heads at the top of the engine instead of "typical" starter placement at the bottom of the bellhousing. So, its a pain to R&R. Lots of threads on this subject. Do a thorough search and you should have more info than you wanted. Best of luck.

http://www.clarks-garage.com/pdf-manual/fuel-17.pdf

Did you throw a Mentos in there? How hot was the day? Where do you live?

Your symptoms point to a classic leak-down of fuel pressure such that it takes a few seconds to reprime the system when cold. From what I understand it may be a leaky injector. You can perform a leak-down test at the fuel rail.

Should not hurt anything to punch it and wind it out once in a while. The transmission will take care of shifting (I would not lock it into a specific gear).

Great find and for only $3k, amazing. BTW, Welcome to LOC, tmm9d! (PS: this is where you come to find the real answers ;) )

Something curious about that diagram, curiousb. Seems strange to me that the secondary coil (hi-voltage) would be working against the +12v side rather than ground. Would expect some high frequency spikes on the +12 v side. Of course a good battery would keep things filtered but might not keep the high frequency noise down. Hmmmm...probably some sort of high frequency cap from +12 to ground.

Amen :)

The reason I asked about the E-brake is that I suspect something related to the E-brake mechanism could be letting go or realigning when you first move backwards. If you stopped using the E-brake for a period, wonder if the noise goes away? I realize that does not solve the problem but it may help focus on the root cause. If the clunk is always there when you backup(a good thing), you will only need to try a few times to verify. You might also want to have someone else back the car up while you are on the outside listening carefully for the source of the noise. In this manner it could perhaps be isolated to a specific side (and area) of the car. If the clunk does not follow the E-brake, it could also be related to differential or connecting drive joints.

Do you use your E-brake?

You have discovered the Lexus "secret". Congrats. You will have many years and miles of luxury!